Game apparatus including pivotal slideway members and control means for manually directing the travel of a ball thereover



L. B. ROSEN GAME APPARATUS INCLUDING PIVOTAL SLIDEWAY MEMBE ,333,851 RSAND Aug. 1. 1967 CONTROL MEANS FOR MANUALLY DIRECTING THE TRAVEL: OF ABALL THEREOVER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 20, 1964 BY I ATTORNEYS Aug.1, 1967 L. B. ROSEN 3,333,851

GAME; APPARATUS INCLUDING PIVOTAL SLIDEWAY MEMBERS AND CONTROL MEANS FORMANUALLY DIRECTING THE TRAVEL OF A BALL THERE-OVER Filed April 20, 19642 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIIG 4 VENTOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,333,851GAME APPARATUS INCLUDING PIVOTAL SLIDE. WAY MEMBERS AND CONTROL MEANSFOR MANUALLY DIRECTING THE TRAVEL OF A BALL THEREOVER Leonard B. Rosen,RD. 2, Jamestown, Pa. 16134 Filed Apr. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 360,888 3Claims. (Cl. 27395) The present invention relates to a new and improvedgame apparatus and especially to a game of skill which is designed forboth entertainment and amusement.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a gameapparatus of the projected ball type wherein a ball or like projectileis propelled by a hand operated striker in a substantially verticalplane for gravitating movement past or onto successive slideway membersprojecting from a substantially vertical plane.

A more particular object is the provision of a game apparatus includinga housing with a substantially vertical visual playing panel, a manuallyoperated striker upon which a ball means rests, and a control mechanismfor selectively controlling the descent of said ball means in thehousing.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of agame apparatus in which a plurality of slideway members in the form ofpivotally mounted elongated slideways are maintained in Verticallyspaced relation to one another and operatively connected to a commonoperating member which is in turn operatively connected to a controlmechanism for moving the slideway members between a first inclinedposition and a second inclined position wherein a ball means resting onanyone of the slideway members will be gravitated through a verticalplane in a zig-zag path along the successive slideway members or whereinthe ball means will gravitate directly downwardly past the successiveslideway members to an inclined pathway for return to the hand operatedstriker.

Consistent with the above general and basic specific objects of theinvention, there are certain more detailed objects of the presentinvention, including the following:

(a) The provision of an amusement or game apparatus werein a guide meansis provided at the top of the housing in overlying relation to a definedpathway for guiding the propelled ball means therefrom and onto anoperable slideway member disposed at the uppermost portion of thehousing between a front and rear wall thereof;

(b) The provision of an amusement or game apparatus wherein a pluralityof slideway members are operably connected by a vertically extendingconnecting arm, and wherein an operating wheel means is operablyconnected to the vertically extending connecting member such that theslideway members may be moved through an oscillating motion between afirst inclined position, a horizontal position and a second inclinedposition, to propel a ball means resting on any one of the slidewaymembers to the next successive slideway member and downwardly toward thenext successive slideway member, etc. through a zig-zag path until theball means gravitates to an inclined pathway and returns to the definedpathway;

(c) The provision of an amusement or game apparatus wherein thepivotally mounted slideway members are secured to the housing in avertical disposition so that the player can freely turn said wheeloperating means to simultaneously actuate each of the slideway members;

(d) The provision of an amusement or game apparatus wherein the frontwall of a housing comprises a transparent material so that the ascent ofthe ball means "ice through a defined pathway and the descent of theball means in the housing along the slideway members or past each of thesuccessive slideway members, to an inclined pathway is visible to theplayer of the game apparatus;

(e) The provision of such an amusement or game apparatus which is freeof any complicated mechanical parts and yet relatively light in weightand sufiiciently strong to withstand continuous use; and,

(f) The provision of an amusement or game ap paratus conforming with thepreceding objects of the present invention wherein the same is durablein operation and which can be manufactured from existing materials so asto be available at a profitable commercial price.

The invention resides in the combination, arrangement, and constructionof the overall apparatus, as well as in certain sub-combinations andarrangements incorporated therein. The invention will be betterunderstood, and objects other than those set forth above, will becomeapparent when consideration is given to the following detaileddescription. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawingspresenting preferred and illustrative embodiments of the presentinvention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of an amusement or game apparatusconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial rear elevation of a control mechanism andoperating assembly for the game apparatus shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional side view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2,FIGURE 3 showing an operating assembly and timing indicator associatedwith the game apparatus of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional side View taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 2,FIGURE 4 showing the construction of operating slideway means in thegame apparatus of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a partial front elevational view partially in section of aball striker assembly as the same appears before a ball means isprojected upwardly in the housing of the game apparatus shown in FIGURE1;

FIGURE 6 is a partial front elevational view partially in section andsubstantially the same view as FIGURE 5 but presenting the ball strikerassembly as the same appears after a ball means has been projectedupwardly through the housing;

FIGURE 7 is a side view of a supporting member associated with thehousing of the game apparatus shown in FIGURE 1, FIGURE 7 presentingportions of the housing in phantom line; and

FIGURE 8 is a front elevational view of the support member shown inFIGURE 7.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention described below andillustrated in the drawings, the game apparatus has been generallydesignated by the reference numeral 2. The game apparatus comprises anoverall housing generally designated by the reference numeral 4 whichhousing includes a pair of horizontally spaced apart side walls 6 and 8,a bottom supporting wall 10 extending transversely between the sidewalls 6 and 8, and a top wall 12 also extending transversely between theside walls 6 and 8. Covering the back portion of the housing 4 andextending between the side walls and top and bottom walls is a rear wall14- thereon. A centrally disposed vertically extending support member 16is secured at the bottom portion thereof to the base wall 10 and at theuppermost portion thereof to the top wall 12.

The centrally disposed support member 16 supports a plurality of pivotalslideway members 18, 20, 22, 24 and 26 by means of the pin members 18',20', 22', 24' and 26' 3 shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. These pin membersextend through the upstanding support member 16, the individual slidewaymembers and then into the rear wall member 14 on the back of the housing4.

Since the configuration of each of the slideway members 18-26 issubstantially identical, it would appear necessary to only describe oneof such members for a suflicient understanding of the overallconstruction thereof. Thus, the slideway 18 includes an elongatedtransversely extending member having an upper concave surface thereondesignated by the reference numeral 28 extending from one end 30 to theother end 32 thereof. The bottom surface of the slideway member 18 issubstantially flat in configuration as are both the ends 30 and 32 andthe side Walls 31 and 33. It should be noted that each of the slidewaymembers 18-26 is pivotally secured to the upstanding support member 16and the upstanding rear wall 14 by the pins 18'26', respectively,passing through each of the slideway members at a point between thecentral vertical axis and one end thereof. In order to effectivelysupport each of the slideway members, a second pivotal securement isprovided by means of the pins 34, 36, 38, 40 and 42 extending througheach of the slideway members, respectively, and a first verticallydisposed control member 44, as shown in FIGURE 4. The verticallydisposed control member 44 is pivotally connected at the bottom end 46thereof to a transversely extending second control member 50 by means ofa pin connection 48. The second control member 50 is secured to theupstanding support member 16 substantially intermediate the endsthereof.

A control wheel assembly generally designated by the reference numeral52 is also supported on the upstanding support member 16 of the housing4 for rotational movement in a plane parallel to the faces of thehousing. The control wheel assembly 52 comprises a rim 54 having spokesor supporting ribs 56 extending radially from the internal periphery ofthe rim 54 toward a central or hub section 58. The transverselyextending second control member 50 which is pivotally secured at 48 tothe upstanding first control member 44 is further secured to the rim 54of the control wheel assembly 52 at 60 and 62 so that rotation of thewheel 54 in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction willcorrespondingly impart a tilting motion to the control member 50, areciprocal vertical motion to the control member 44 and an oscillatingmotion to the slideway members 18-26.

The control wheel assembly 52 is pivotally secured to the housing 4 bymeans of a journal member 64 and a shaft 66 extending from the hubportion 58 on the control wheel assembly through the upstanding supportmember 16 and the rear wall 14. The journal member 64 extends betweenthe upstanding support member 16 and the rear wall 14 for maintainingproper orientation of the shaft 66. Since the control member 44 ispivotally attached to each of the slideway members 18-26 by means of thepins 3442, the reciprocal vertical movement of the control member 44imparts a simultaneous alternating inclination or oscillation to theslideway members such that they move from a first inclined positioncorresponding to the uppermost position of the control member 44 to asecond inclined position corresponding to the lowermost position of thecontrol member 44.

The prescribed movement of the slideway members 18-26 will initiallymove the ball 70 from the end 30 toward the end 32 of the slidewaymember 18 along the concave face 28 thereof, and onto the end 72 of thenext successive slideway member 20. Then, by rapid movement of thecontrol wheel 54 to the left, or in other words, in a counterclockwisedirection, the slideway 20 will be downwardly inclined toward the sidewall member 6 so that the ball 70 will then travel thereon toward theend 74 thereof. By continuing the rapid alternating rotational movementsof the control wheel 54 the ball 70 is propelled downwardly along eachof the successive slideways in a zig-zag path until the same reaches theend 76 of the slideway 26. At this point, the ball 70 will descend ontothe inclined wall member 78 extending from the sidewall 8 to anupstanding wall means 80 horizontally spaced from the side wall 6. Thus,a pathway 82 is defined between the sidewall 6 and the Wall means 80 andbetween the bottom wall 10 and the top wall 12 of the housing. It shouldbe here noted that the upstanding wall means or partition 80 terminatesat a point 84 vertically spaced from a ball guide 86 secured to the topwall 12 of the housing.

It will be noted that the end 30 of the uppermost slideway member 18, asclearly shown in FIGURE 1, will be spaced from the upstanding wall meansor divider wall 80 a distance less than the diameter of the ball means70 when the slideway member 18 is inclined downwardly somewhat towardthe wall means 80. In this position the ball means 70 is retained. onthe end 30 of the slideway member 18 until the slideway members arepivoted to the position shown in FIGURE 1 by rotation of the controlwheel assembly 52 in a clockwise direction. Additionally, it will beseen from the drawings that alternate ends of the slideway membersoverlie the next lower slideway member whereby the ball means is capableof descending from one slideway member to the next when the slidewaymembers are properly pivoted so that they are alternately inclined inopposite directions. Further, the remainder of the ends of the slidewaymembers, other than end 30 of slideway member 18, are spaced from theside wall 8 or the wall means 80 a distance greater than the diameter ofthe wall means 70 in all positions of the slideway members whereby theball means is capable of bypassing the slideway members when theslideway members are improperly controlled.

The inclined wall 78 extends from the side wall 8 toward the upstandingwall means 80 and cooperates with a slot or hole 88 therein so that theball 70 can return to the defined pathway 82 after either traversing thezigzag path over the slideway members 18-26 and down the inclinedpathway of the wall 78 having a concave upper face 90 thereon or afterdescending directly from the end of one of the uppermost slidewaymembers.

It should be here noted that a transparent front wall 15 extends betweenthe side walls 6 and 8, the top wall 12 and the inclined wall 78 as wellas overlying the defined pathway 82. Thus, the player or operator of thegame apparatus can see the complete operation of the various elementsand the ascending and descending movement of the ball 70.

By means of a ball striker generally designated by the reference numeral92 shown in FIGURES 1, 5 and 6, the ball 70 is projected upwardlythrough the defined pathway 82. Because of the arcuate contour 94 on theguide 86, the ball 70 is guided over the top portion 84 of the wallmember 80 on to the uppermost slideway member 18 at the end 30 thereof.Due to the relationship set forth hereinabove between the end 30 of theslideway member 18 and the wall means 80, the ball 70 will be retainedon the slideway member 18 when the slideway members are initiallydownwardly inclined toward the wall means 80 and until slideway membersare pivoted to incline them in the opposite direction. The

ball striker 92 comprise a base member 96 secured to the top face 98 ofthe bottom wall 10 and a pair of upstanding arm members 100 and 102through which a pivot shaft 104 extends. The ball striker member 106 ispivotally secured to the shaft 104 and extends transversely of thehousing 4 in spaced paralled relation to the rear wall 14 thereof. Theball striker 106 extends towards the side wall 6 and passes through aslot 108 in the bottom of the wall member 80 so that the front portion110, or the ball engaging part of the ball striker 106, lies within thepathway 82 for engaging the ball 70 on the top surface 112 thereof.

In operation, the game apparatus is operated by the initial placement ofthe ball 70 as shown in FIGURE 1 on the top face 112 of the ball striker106 so that the players hand or finger is moved downwardly with somedegree of force upon the end 106' of the ball striker 106 therebprojecting the ball 70 upwardly through the path 82. The ball thenengages the guide surface 94 and passes through the space 95 between theuppermost point 84 of the wall 80 and the guide means 86 and then comesto rest on the slideway member 18.

Through alternation of the direction of rotational movement of the wheel54, the slideway members 18-26 are placed in their alternate inclinedpositions previously described above. The player thereby attempts tomaintain the ball in a descending zig-zag path until the same travelsdownwardly on the slideway member 26 toward the end 76 thereof and dropsonto the inclined path 78 for return to the pathway 82 through the slot88 in the upstanding Wall member 80. However, if the acceleration of theball 70 down anyone of the slideway member 18-26 is such that the playerby movement of the wheel 54 and associated movement of the slidewaymembers to an inclined position, cannot control the ball 70, then itwill descend from the end of any one of the slideway members downwardlypast all of the other successive slideway members to the wall 78 andreturn to the position shown in FIG- URE 1. Thus, the operator will haveunsuccessfully played the game.

In order to provide a suflicient support for the housing 4 on a fiatsurface, a pair of supporting leg members generally indicated by thereference numerals 120 and 122, are releasably attached to the housing4, shown in FIGURE 4, so that the player cannot easily tip the entirehousing over during operation of the game.

One of the support legs 120 is shown in FIGURES 7 and 8 and comprises afirst member 122 having an upstanding section 124 integrally connectedwith a base portion 126 which rests on a table top or other fiat surfaceby means of the surfaces 128 and 130 at the rear and front portions,respectively. A second member 128 is integrally connected with theupstanding section 124 of the first member 122 and this second memberextends perpendicular to the upstanding portion 124 so that the same mayengage the rear wall 14 of the housingas shOWn in phantom line in FIGURE7. The second member 128 is provided with an aperture 130 through whichpasses a conventional securing means such as a bolt 132. An alignedaperture 134 in the rear wall 14 of the housing is also engaged by thebolt and a wing nut 136 is attached thereto so that the leg 120 isreleasably secured to the housing. Attention is directed to the frontportion 138 of the first member 126 wherein a notch 140 and overlappingedge portion 142 are provided for engaging the front lip of the bottomwall member 10 so that the same is secured to the supporting leg member.Since each of the supporting leg members 120 and 122 are of identicalconstruction, the above description of the leg supporting member 120should be sufficient for a full understanding of the overallconstruction.

Since the game apparatu 2 of the present invention can be best playedwhen the housing 4 is level, the same is provided with an indicatingmeans 140 which is of the conventional bubble type for indicating alevel or inclined position by means of an air bubble 142 seen throughthe cut-out portion 144. This level indicator is secured to the upperface 98 of the bottom wall 10 so that the player can see the position ofthe bubble 142 through the viewing slot 144 and thereby adjust thesupporting surface of the housing 4 to the proper position in order toorient the housing in a level position.

If desired, the present invention may be used as a competitive gamewherein the initial striking of the ball 70 and the descending Zig-zagpath taken by the ball for its return to the defined pathway 82 can betimed by a conventional timer designated by the reference numeral 150.Such a timer is mounted on a supporting surface 152 secured to theupstanding support member 16 by means of the brackets 154 and 156. Therebrackets are attached to the supporting surface 152 by means of thescrew members 158. The timer includes a conventional two compartmentglass container having a small orifice therebetween for passage of sandor other desirable material so that a predetermined time elapses betweenthe filling and the unfilling of the timer compartments. The timer isremovable from the brackets 154 and 156 so that a new sequence can bestarted merely by removing the timer and inverting the same into thebrackets 156 and 154.

After reading the foregoing description of the preferred andillustrative embodiment of the present invention, it should be apparentthat the objects set forth at the outset of the present specificationhave been successfully achieved.

Accordingly, what is claimed is:

1. A game apparatus comprising, in combination:

(a) a housing including a first side wall, a second side wall, a topwall, a front wall and a rear wall, said front and rear walls extendingsubstantially parallel to each other and ordinarily being substantiallyvertically disposed when said game apparatus is in use;

(b) ball means within said housing;

(c) a divider wall within aid housing spaced from said first side wallbetween said front and rear walls to define a substantially verticallyextending pathway between said first side wall, said divider wall andsaid front and rear walls and extending toward said top wall;

(d) a plurality of vertically spaced apart slideway member pivotallycarried within said housing between said front and rear walls, at leastthe portion of said front wall overlying said slideway members beingtransparent;

(e) control means operatively connected to all of said slideway membersto simultaneously pivot the same from a first position in which saidslideway member are inclined downwardly toward said divider wall to asecond position in which said slideway members are inclined downwardlytoward said second sidewall;

(f) the uppermost of said slideway members including one end spaced fromsaid divider wall a distance less than the diameter of said ball meanswhen aid uppermost slideway member is in said first position to retainsaid ball means thereon until said slideway members are pivoted to saidsecond positionby said control means;

g) alternate ends of said slideway members overlying the next lowerslideway member whereby said ball means is capable of descending fromone slideway member to the next when said slideway members are properlypivoted alternately from said first position to said second position bysaid control means and with the remainder of the ends of said slidewaymembers being spaced from said second side wall and said divider wall adistance greater than the diameter of said ball means in all positionsof said slideway members whereby said ball means is capable of bypassingsaid slideway members when said slideway members are improperlycontrolled;

(h) a return wall extending between said second side wall and saiddivider wall and said front and rear walls and below the lowermost ofsaid slideway members, said return wall being inclined downwardly towardsaid divider wall;

(i) said divider wall including an opening aligned with said return walland communicating with said pathy;

(j) actuator means including portion extending into said pathway belowthe point at which said opening in said divider wall communicatestherewith, said portions being operable to engage said ball means to 7 8move the same upwardly through said pathway; and, References Cited 7 (k)guide IIIIHIIS dlSPOSfid at the 0 1) Of Said pathway UNITED to directsaid ball means onto said one end of said 4 uppermost slideway member.54 6/1882 Allen, 273 3 2. The combination defined in claim 1 furthercom- 5 2,159,174 5/1939 m 273-104 prising support means for maintainingsaid housing in 3,101,587 8/1963 Patnck 273*148 X an upstandingrelationship during use with said pathway FOREIGN PATENTS extendingsubstantially vertically. 795 01 12 1 5 France 3. The combination ofclaim 1 wherein said actuator 1,025,556 1/1953 Franm means includes anactuator member pivotally carried by 10 1,100,898 4 /1955 France.

said housing, one end of said member extending through said divider wallat the bottom thereof for underlying RICHARD C. PINKHAM, PrimaryExaminer. said ball means whereby when the other end of said mem- F.BARRY SHAY, Emmi-nan ber is manually struck, said ball means is movedup- Wardly through Said passageway 15 L. J. BOVASSO, S. NA'ITER,Asszstant Examiners.

1. A GAME APPARATUS COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: (A) A HOUSING INCLUDINGA FIRST SIDE WALL, A SECOND SIDE WALL, A TOP WALL, A FRONT WALL AND AREAR WALL, SAID FRONT AND REAR WALLS EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TOEACH OTHER AND ORDINARILY BEING SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY DISPOSED WHENSAID GAME APPARATUS IS IN USE; (B) BALL MEANS WITHIN SAID HOUSING; (C) ADIVIDER WALL WITHIN SAID HOUSING SPACED FROM SAID FIRST SIDE WALLBETWEEN SAID FRONT AND REAR WALLS TO DEFINE A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLYEXTENDING PATHWAY BETWEEN SAID FIRST SIDE WALL, SAID DIVIDER WALL ANDSAID FRONT AND REAR WALLS AND EXTENDING TOWARD SAID TOP WALL; (D) APLURALITY OF VERTICALLY SPACED APART SLIDEWAY MEMBERS PIVOTALLY CARRIEDWITHIN SAID HOUSING BETWEEN SAID FRONT AND REAR WALLS, AT LEAST THEPORTION OF SAID FRONT WALL OVERLYING SAID SLIDEWAY MEMBERS BEINGTRANSPARENT; (E) CONTROL MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO ALL OF SAIDSLIDEWAY MEMBERS TO SIMULTANEOUSLY PIVOT THE SAME FROM A FIRT POSITIONIN WHICH SAID SLIDEWAY MEMBERS ARE INCLINED DOWNWARDLY TOWARD SAIDDIVIDER WALL TO A SECOND POSITION IN WHICH SAID SLIDEWAY MEMBERS AREINCLINED DOWNWARDLY TOWARD SAID SECOND SIDE WALL; (F) THE UPPERMOST OFSAID SLIDEWAY MEMBERS INCLUDING ONE END SPACED FROM SAID DIVIDER WALL ADISTANCE LESS THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID BALL MEANS WHEN SAID UPPERMOSTSLIDEWAY MEMBER IS IN SAID FIRST POSITION TO RETAIN SAID BALL MEANSTHEREON UNTIL SAID SLIDEWAY MEMBERS ARE PIVOTED TO SAID SECOND POSITIONBY SAID CONTROL MEANS; (G) ALTERNATE ENDS OF SAID SLIDEWAY MEMBERSOVERLYING THE NEXT LOWER SLIDEWAY MEMBER WHEREBY SAID BALL MEANS ISCAPABLE OF DESCENDING FROM ONE SLIDEWAY MEMBER TO THE NEXT WHEN SAIDSLIDEWAY MEMBERS ARE PROPERLY PIVOTED ALTERNATELY FROM SAID FIRSTPOSITION TO SAID SECOND POSITION BY SAID CONTROL MEANS AND WITH THEREMAINDER OF THE ENDS OF SAID SLIDEWAY MEMBERS BEING SPACED FROM SAIDSECOND SIDE WALL AND SAID DIVIDER WALL A DISTANCE GREATER THAN THEDIAMETER OF SAID BALL MEANS IN ALL POSITIONS OF SAID SLIDEWAY MEMBERSWHEREBY SAID BALL MEANS IS CAPABLE OF BYPASSING SAID SLIDEWAY MEMBERSWHEN SAID SLIDEWAY MEMBERS ARE IMPROPERLY CONTROLLED; (H) A RETURN WALLEXTENDING BETWEEN SAID SECOND SIDE WALL AND SAID DIVIDER WALL AND SAIDFRONT AND REAR WALLS AND BELOW THE LOWERMOST OF SAID SLIDEWAY MEMBERS,SAID RETURN WALL BEING INCLINED DOWNWARDLY TOWARD SAID DIVIDER WALL; (I)SAID DIVIDER WALL INCLUDING AN OPENING ALIGNED WITH SAID RETURN WALL ANDCOMMUNICATING WITH SAID PATHWAY; (J) ACTUATOR MEANS INCLUDING PORTIONSEXTENDING INTO SAID PATHWAY BELOW THE POINT AT WHICH SAID OPENING INSAID DIVIDER WALL COMMUNICATES THEREWITH, SAID PORTIONS BEING OPERABLETO ENGAGE SAID BALL MEANS TO MOVE THE SAME UPWARDLY THROUGH SAIDPATHWAY; AND, (K) GUIDE MEANS DISPOSED AT THE TOP OF SAID PATHWAY TODIRECT SAID BALL MEANS ONTO SAID ONE END OF SAID UPPERMOST SLIDEWAYMEMBER.